The Crimson Legacy
by HowltheGreat
Summary: Four brothers, after the initial storyline for Star Wars: The Old Republic, who were separated after the Empire invaded their small town which forced them to grow up with extremely different lives and personalities. After finally being able to reconnect, they discover that the youngest is missing, officially declared as dead. LGBT characters covered all four Empire classes.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Solaris

"Run! Hurry up! I'll hold them off!"

There were four of them when the attack started; four young boys, each with a headful of sliver-white hair and a pair of bright-green eyes. Their dark-tanned skin was common for the people in their remote village on the tropical tempered and over-vegetated moon. They had been lucky for a long time, being a middle of the road trading route for both the Republic and the Empire, but the two factions had finally butted heads one too many times. The Empire was finally invading, taking prisoners who gave up and shooting down those who didn't.

"But you can't hold them all off!" The cry came from one of the younger ones who called old to his brother in desperation, trying to force some logic through the stubborn attitude and thick headedness. The eldest only grinned, throwing a wink over his shoulder before calling out to the Imperial soldiers.

"HEY YOU! Get away from our house!"

A swirl of red circled the young, but solid body, drawing into him enough raw and untrained Force to toss a rather large piece of wrecked ceiling towards the group. After it crashed landed in the midst of the group, the young boy then snickered before running off to draw their attention. Naturally, he was chased and only stopped every so often to pick up another piece of debris with his will to toss behind himself at the pursuers. Admittedly, it felt good to hit one and have another trip over the body; it didn't take long before he was cornered. Surrounded by blaster rifles, he stared daggers at his attackers.

The sharp green eyes glared at circle of men in black uniforms and armor, completely fearless.

"Stand down. I'll be taking this one." Moving aside, the soldiers made room for the heavily-armored, female Lord. There was a sense of elegance to the older woman, despite her menacing aura. Her face was hidden behind a mask that altered her voice, but the black and red armor hugged the aged curves of her adult body. A leathery cape flapped in the wind, matching the shapes and color of the many swirls of smoke in the sky.

"What's your name, boy?"

The glare continued as the red swirls returned and continuously surrounded the youth. While the boy couldn't see the smirk that came across the mouth of the women, he could sense it as she mocked the weak force energy with the crushing power of her own. His strength and expression suddenly wavered noticeable, however, despite his body trembling, he still continued to stand. The woman was equally both surprised and amused, making another fist to radiate a Force stronger than before. Finally, he fell to already dirtied knees as a cough of blood came out to splatter on the scorched earth. The ominous swirling red cloud around the boy dissipated as the unnatural strength finally retreated.

"Your name, boy."

"….Solaris." What choice was there but to answer? Everything hurt, his vision was blurry and blood dripped from the dry, chapped lips.

"Age?"

"Four…Fourteen."

"And no formal training on this waste of a moon. Impressive. Yes, you will go far."

The female Lord turned, speaking to one of the soldiers. "Ready my ship and take this boy to the space dock. He's force sensitive and coming with me."

"Yes, my Lord." The solider who was being spoken to saluted before heading to Solaris's body. Being pulled up, Solaris looked toward his new master. Still, the softened green eyes moved to the spot where he had left the others. If nothing else, there was the relief that they had escaped.

Prologue: Seren

"But you can't hold them all off!"

Seren had to protest at Solaris's logic. What good would it do them if they all split up?! But Solaris, who was always stubborn, ran off with a smile. That self-righteous jackass! Of course, this left Seren in charge of the other two. Sighing, he pushed his two younger siblings along to try to hide in the remains of a small hut that had been recently destroyed. It made sense that the troops wouldn't have any interest in a house that they had already sacked and ravaged.

Hunkered down, the three remained as quiet as possible, watching the marches of the Empire as if it were a sea of black. It reminded Seren of how black ants walked in straight lines and for a brief moment, he also wondered if any of them had a fear of getting lost if the trail broke. Thinking of things like a giant breadcrumb falling from the sky and watching the Imperial scurry to it gave him a mental chuckle, at the very least. It was the only bit of happiness that he would be allowed to have today.

"Some might still be hiding. Search the remains!" There was a large man in rich, gaudy robes giving orders to a handful of soldiers. Once someone was found, they were inspected.

"Slave traders…" One of the other boys spoke quietly, peeking through the overgrown bangs of his white hair.

"Quiet, Tsuki…" Seren was quick to shush the younger brother in fear that they might be heard from there hiding spot despite the overpowering sounds of grenades going off and blaster fire in the background.

With another explosion nearby, the already unstable roof above them started to collapse. Looking up, Seren had quickly deduced that there were only two choices to make; get crushed or push the younger two to safety, however, that would leave him exposed and out in the open. Sighing, he opted for the second choice. The last thing he saw was Tsuki's wide eyed look before the roof came down just inches in front of his nose. The roof falling down let out the terrible sound of both collapsing stone and metal being torn and scratched that easily caught the attention of the slave hunting patrol.

"Sir, we have another one."

Not even fighting it, Seren was pulled to his feet though his sharp green eyes were most defiant. He even jerked his face away as he was inspected by the foul-smelling, fat noble. "Get your hands off me, you piece of lard. Just stick my shock collar on already."

The force of the impact of being backhanded by a swollen hand covered in gemmed rings busted Seren's lips and nose. "Shock collar? HA! You….You get the brand."

Tensing up, Seren felt the heat of the device coming towards his face and released a blood piercing scream when it made contact. Across the nose, directly under the eyes, a fresh brand was burned into the brown flesh along with a circular symbol on the forehead. He could feel the indentations just from the burning pain alone.

Prologue: Tsuki

"Seren…SEREN!" The younger of the remaining two started to scream.

Tsuki's hand covered the yelling mouth as they both watched the roof collapse in front of them. There was nothing that could be done for their brother now. The hand that covered the once screaming could feel the tears of the youngest that started to drip down on the dirty fingers.

"Stop it. We need to get out of here. Look for a way. " With heavy sniffling, there was a nod as the pair crawled in the darkness on their hands and knees.

"Found a grate. This should lead to the sewers, right?" Smiling, Tsuki gave a nod.

"Good job, Celi." The cried upon hand came up to ruffle up the short white hair of the younger in an attempt to both comfort and praise, something Tsuki often failed at in most occasions. Pulling the grate open, Tsuki let the younger go first, dropping down afterwards with a splash in the dirty water. The smell was incredibly foul with fat rats running through the tunnels.

"Ugh." Holding his nose with one hand and Celi's hand with the other, Tsuki started to lead them through the dimly lit passageways following a dim amount of light and hope that eventually allowed for the pair to come out on the other side. There was no telling how long they were in there and how far away from the village they were. In the horizon, the black smoke from the attack was still visible.

"We need to get out of here." Tsuki only looked behind for just a moment before returning his gaze to the front. With his younger brother in hand, he tugged along down a dipping hill trying to avoid the small waterfall of sewage and waste. Only tuffs of their white hair could be seen at this point, mostly hidden by dirt and Maker knows what else.

Glaring through the light of the setting dual-suns, they noticed a line of ships that had landed on the outskirts. They were different looking from the Imperial ships, with a much more battle-worn and armored appearance. Putting a finger to his lips, Tsuki silently hushed Celi as the pair kept low, sneaking between the spacecrafts. Avoiding the armored Mandalorians was the tricky part, but every step they got closer to the craft, the easier it seemed to get. At the end of the line was a black Imperial ship, sleek looking as if brand-new and fresh off the assembly line with the hatch open.

Perfect.

Motioning over, Tsuki made Celi go first after whispering something into his ear. Whatever it was seemed to startle the younger boy.

"But…But Tsuki, I can't…"

"Yes, you can. Wait for my signal. You'll be fine. Go. Araceli! Go!"

Finally mustering up the courage, Celi ran as fast as his short legs would carry him towards the hatch, disappearing inside. With a sigh of relief, Tsuki turned back toward the patrolling guards. Sneaking up behind one, he swiped the pair of blaster pistols from each side of their armored covered hips. The plain was to grab them and run, hiding between the ships and drawing their attention to give Celi time to do as he was instructed, but the temptation was too much. Despite the desperate situation, Tsuki's lust for revenge had to be satisfied. Shooting down the man who just lost their guns, there was a menacing smile that crept onto the boy's lips. The second guard reached for her own pistols, but was shot down before getting the chance.

"Two."

The blaster noise had alerted the other patrollers. As each ran up, they were shot down with a deadly accuracy.

"Three. Four."

"Hold it."

Tsuki was surrounded with arms spread to opposite directions; a gun in each hand. A more rugged, older man with a gruff voice came out from behind his fellows, his face covered by a respectable but aged traditional Mandalorian helmet.

"You're surrounded, boy."

Tsuki only smirked, his messy dirt-covered hair covering one of the narrowed green eyes. "I evened the score from what you took from me. As long as I take down two more before you gun me down, I would still one up you. That's all I care about."

There was silence at first, but the older man started to laugh. It wasn't a mocking laugh. The sound was throaty, full of actual amusement that bellowed and reverberated from inside the helmet. "You've got gall, kid. I give you that."

The helmet came off, showing a shaved head with a thick jawed face decorated with war paint. "You want something, right? Name it."

"My baby brother has disabled your ships and their shields remotely. He's just a kid and he's really smart. Not a waste of space like me. We got nothing to do with your war on the Republic, but you sacked us anyway. Get him out of here safely."

"What about you? Don't you want out of here too?"

Tsuki just shook his head. "Don't care about me. I got what I wanted." Grinning, it was obvious Tsuki was speaking on his freshly killed body count; one for each of his missing siblings and his mother.

The large Mandalorian leader thought for only just a moment before giving a nod. It was interested to negotiate with a child, especially one facing down an army without any fear or hesitation.

"Deal."

The second voice came from behind as a sharply dressed Imperial Agent came out of stealth with a knife at Tsuki's throat that had not been noticed before.

"Damnit…" Taking his fingers off the triggers, Tsuki put his hands up. The agent smirked, removing the blade.

"You say he disabled the shields? Indeed…We could use that sort of intelligence, at such a young age no less. Prove your loyalty to the Empire and I'll take him to be trained. He will be taken care of, you have my word."

Tsuki remained silent for a moment wanting to take his chances, but he had to keep a clear head that Araceli wouldn't be able to make it on his own. "…Fine. Celi! Celi, you can come out now!"

Timidly, a little tuff of white hair peaked from the open hatch. "Really…really? Okay…"

Coming over, there seemed to be some confusion. Despite Tsuki's claim that Celi was younger, they looked identical.

"Hm. Twins?" The older Mandalorian scratched at his scruff. Tsuki only glared, refusing to answer the question before turning to his brother.

"You're going to go with this guy, okay? You'll be alright, I promise."

"You…You mean 'we', right?"

Smiling, Tsuki just shook his head. "Nah, I'll come find you later. I got business with this old guy back here."

"…Old?" The Mando leader scoffed at the notion. He wasn't old…yet.

"But…but…", Celi started to tear up again, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Hey, it's alright. You'll go to a real school and everything like you wanted." Tsuki managed fluffed up the short hair again before pushing him over to the Agent.

"You hurt him, I will hunt you down."

With an arm around Celi, the agent turned to head back to his ship but still had a nagging feeling that the older of the two boys was actually serious.

"We take care of our own", the Agent attempted to reassure him before making his way inside of the ship.

Ciel eventually disappeared as well as the hatch closed behind them. That just left Tsuki with the rather pissed off bunch of Mandalorians to deal with.

Great.

Turning, he looked into the eyes of the leader. "So, you gonna kill me now or what?"

Again, the large Mando laughed before belting a large, armored fist into Tsuki's face. The impact nearly broke the young boy's jaw and sent him stammering back. Much to the Mando's amusement, Tsuki shook it off with a grin.

"That all you got _old man_?"

The other Mandalorians stood back, watching the back and forth scrap. Tsuki gave pretty well for the beating he was taking despite not having any sort of armor on and having dropped his stolen pistols, but it was finally ending when he took a hard knee jab to the stomach. The pain that shook his body caused him to pass out, already half-starved and exhausted from being on the run. Thoroughly unconscious, he was picked up and flung over the large man's shoulder.

"Ready the ship."

The other Mandos nodded, moving out of the way as they shuffled into the ships.

Prologue: Araceli

"But...but…"

Araceli's mind was racing. He had already lost so much already. Despite technically being the same age as Tsuki, he had less than half the nerves. He was also wondering why Tsuki didn't answer the question when asked if they were twins. No, they weren't twins. There were four of them, after all or at least, there was.

Solaris, Seren, Tsuki, and Araceli.

Sun, Star, Moon, and Sky.

They were brothers, all born one right after the other. They were all the same age and even relatively the same size with matching faces, hair and eyes. There were subtle differences, to be sure, in both appearance and especially in personality. Solaris kept his hair slightly longer, while Seren liked to spike his bangs up to keep them out of his eyes while he read. Tsuki grew his bangs out instead, brushing them to one side of his face saying he only needed one eye to see really. Araceli was less creative in this department, keeping a typical short boy cut that his mother insisted on. She would have at least one normal child, so help her.

Solaris had a strong personality that he blamed on being the first born. He was overprotective and tried to do everything on his own. Seren was next and usually quieter, keeping to himself and preferred to stay lost any sort of studies that he could manage over the net. Tsuki was a bit of a jerk and had mean streak, but was surprisingly kind in private. He was only the big brother to Araceli, so he tried constantly to make the youngest of them braver by reminding him that life was cruel. He never thought he'd see the day where Tsuki would be proven right.

"So you managed to hack into my system?" The agent had taken Celi to the ship and went to check the console to see exactly how that was even possible. The boy just nodded as the curious green eyes scanned the ship. He didn't have much time to look around before. It was all so…shiny.

"I see. You'll be just what we're looking for. Such a young age as well. Do you have any implants?"

Turning, Celi found himself being scanned over with a probe. This time, the small head shook no.

"Well, you come out clean. "

There was a sharp pain as he was stuck was a needle in the upper arm. "Just an immunity booster. You're a bit under-fed, scrawny."

"I've always been a bit smaller…" Rubbing the arm, Celi felt a bit embarrassed. "What's going to happen to me?"

"You'll be sent for training, formally. That's all I can tell you right now."

"….Okay."

There was a sigh as the ship started to rattle before taking off.


	2. Tsuki: Chapter 1

There was a shuffle from the large bed in the back of the ship that Tsuki had stolen and kept as a prize. It wasn't as if he had an extra ship in storage waiting for him, just in case he wanted to ever return this one. Groaning, the man opened his eyes slowly, feeling all types of groggy. Fresh liquid kolto was running through the veins, creating a feeling of slight soreness as well as a feel-good euphoria. It was also the cause of bringing up old memories.

"…That…damned dream again."

There was another shuffle off to the side of the bed where Torian Cadera had been watching over the Bounty Hunter for so long that he had actually fallen asleep. Based on Torian's commitment and renowned stamina, Tsuki had to assume that he'd been watched over for at least a few days now. The heavy armor that had once been attached to Tsuki's body before being returned to the ship had long since been removed. It had been replaced instead by medical tape which bound up Tsuki's bruised and battered chest. The only sort of armor, or clothing for that matter, that remained on the brown-skinned body was Tsuki's medical gauntlet only to monitor his life signs. After struggling to sit up, he tapped a few commands into the piece of equipment to give him another dose of kolto before putting the gloved hand on top of the short, messy blonde hair.

"Torian? Torian, wake up."

There was a moan from the Mando who shifted his weight before raising a tired face up. Baby-blues looked into the soft green before Torian let out a loud, lion of a yawn. "You're finally awake. We were starting to get worried."

"We?"

"Yeah, you know. Mako, Blizz…me."

Letting out a chuckle, Tsuki moved to lie back down, holding his other bare arm over the still pained ribs. "You're the one who followed me and didn't stay put. This is your fault."

"My fault? I pulled you out of there! Why did you go off without me?!"

The once quiet room was suddenly filled with yelling, at least from Torian while Tsuki's voice remained hushed. "That's none of your damn business…"

Usually, closing his eyes meant that Tsuki was ready to end the conversation and be left alone; however, Torian had just about had it with the recent string of 'secret' missions.

"Is this about that woman you keep talking about? Celi?"

The eyes snapped back open, giving Torian a glare. "Celi isn't a woman and what do you mean, 'keep talking about?'"

"So it's a man then? What is he to you? You talk in your sleep."

Question after question before a response; it was a wonder why Torian was suddenly so curious.

"Yes, it's a man; again, none of your damn business and stop listening to me…uh…sleep…talk." Even Tsuki wasn't really sure how to make that demand and frankly, it didn't matter. With an irritated roll over, like a stubborn child who didn't want to confess something, the Bounty Hunter stopped talking. Sighing, Torian finally stood up.

"I'll get Mako. She'll want to know you're up and look you over…"

"I can take care of my own wounds, so don't bother. Just get out."

"Fine."

Leaving the room, the frustrated Mando left with clenched armored fists. The door opened and closed on its own with rusted creaking and a thud. Walking through the ship, Torian ran into a busy looking Mako who immediately flustered at the sight of him. "Tor..Torian…Hi. Is…the boss okay?"

It was painfully obvious she still had feelings for him, though it had been already been decided that it was best not to get involved with each other."He's fine, Mako. Stubborn, but sturdy. I was going to get some grub since he hasn't eaten in a few…"

"Oh. Right. Of course, I'll just go in and check…"

"I wouldn't. Not unless you want him blasting warning shots at you again. Remember the last time?"

How could she forget? The memory brought back an uncomfortable face to the surface. "Right…In one of those moods again?" Torian nodded, causing Mako to sigh. "Right….By the way, you never really answered my question."

"What question?"

Even as he spoke, Torian continued to the mess hall to open up a cold storage unit in order to pull out a container of some stew he made a few days before. Tapping on the built-in panel on the front of the container, he set it down so that it would self-heat. Mako followed, keeping short distance just outside of the room.

"You know", she spoke softly as her confidence gathered. "Now that we are done with the whole Great Hunt and everything else, we could actually try to start again. I know you said that at the time, we had a lot of work to do and shouldn't get personal, but now..."

"I did answer you." Torian continued to watch the container to make sure the stew only bubbled for a moment before cutting the power off. He continued to speak as he dug around the other compartments in the mess hall for a clean spoon. "I told you that it's not a good idea. It would never work between us. You don't…understand the ways of the Mandalorians. The way you speak to Tsuki every time he does something for the good of the rest of us, it obvious that you hate it. Our ways are something that you won't ever understand."

Stunned, Mako began to stammer again in anger. "What…what the boss does most of the time is take the cruelest and easiest way out! He kills people because it's easier than capturing someone!"

"Well, it is. If someone has the courage to put themselves out there enough to be hunted down, then they are lucky enough to have a good fight before they go." The Mando smiled as he finally acquired a spoon, albeit slightly grimy, and picked up a towel to wipe it off with.

"There are better ways to do things, Torian."

"…And this is why I say you don't understand. You're a nice girl, Mako. Smart, funny, pretty, but you really don't belong here."

He moved to give the stew a stir, tasting the contents before putting the lid back on. Needing both hands to carry the container by the handles, Torian left the spoon in his mouth to carry. He gave a polite smile to Mako, moving carefully past her and towards the direction of the boss's room. "Oh, Mako. I need a favor." It was a mumbling request as the spoon was shifted to the side of his mouth.

Folding her arms, the irritated Asian woman looked onward. "Now you ask me for a favor after you say I don't belong here."

"Look, don't be like that. I'm worried about Tsuki. All these missions with him going in alone and coming back in pieces. I think he's looking for someone. Can you do your net thing and try to find a name Celi…and…there was another name…Seren? Something about slave traders? Might be old flames, might be family. Whatever it is, I need to know."

"Does the boss know you're digging into his personal life like that?"

Sure, Mako had a mean streak of her own when she was feeling burned. "What are you going to give me if I do it?"

"What do you want? Credits? I got some saved up."

"You know what I want, Torian…I'll look into it."

With a smirk, she turned to walk away, feeling quite proud of herself. What she didn't see was Torian rolling his eyes and sighing again.

"Women. Tsuki, I'm coming in."

Back in the closed off room, Tsuki was already out of bed and attempting to untape his battered upper body while using the medical gauntlet to do a few more scans. He was smaller than he looked after the armor was removed, but still very toned. It also wasn't very obvious that he was actually a skilled Combat Medic as well. Despite seeing it many times before, Torian was still amazed at how fast Tsuki managed to type and configured the equipment, saving his own life and the life of his teammates several times over under the most intense situations. It was also nearly insane at also how quickly Tsuki could flip the switch on the twin blaster pistols from a helping hand to a deadly shot. Mako was right about one thing, at least. For as excelled as Tsuki was at saving lives, he was awfully quick to end them.

"Didn't I tell you to get out?" Tsuki spoke softly, not bothering to look up at Torian. He knew exactly who it was.

"You say that all the time. I brought you some stew."

"And I always mean it, but you just stopped caring." The Hunter finally looked up briefly before going back to tending to his own wounds. "Thanks." Sitting down on the bed, Tsuki waited for Torian to bring it over. It was almost normal now. Despite Tsuki's rude behavior and constant protest, Torian brushed off the comments and just did was he wanted anyway. Opening the lid, lips were put on the lid and started to chug it down. It was warm with a pleasant hotness. The meat was fresh, though it was best not to ask what it was from. Mandalorians were good at hiding otherwise nasty flavors with the right combination of spices. Torian had the spoon in hand by now, holding it out but Tsuki shook his head at it.

"That was in your mouth. I saw it."

"You never cared before." True enough, so the white-haired male took it and started to eat normally. It was like training a stray animal to trust him, Torian thought, smiling to himself with the small victories he managed to accomplish over the time they had been together. "By the way, I'm going with you on your next mission."

After coughing a little from a laugh, Tsuki managed to chew and swallow a meaty piece down. "The hell you are. I don't need a babysitter."

"Then you're not going either."

"Like you could stop me."

"Try me."

The intense blue eyes looked over, glaring down roughly. It was the exact same glare that Torian held while looking through the scope of a sniper rifle.

"….What's with you lately? Why are you being so over-protective? You've been less of a pain in my ass through harder jobs."

The look softened as Torian had to think upon a decent way to answer that question. "….I'm worried. You leave and come back barely alive. Last time, you wouldn't have come back at all. What's so important that you're willing to die for? I told you everything about me, my dad and my family. You…only talk in your sleep."

"I'm talking now, aren't I?"

"Then who are you looking for? Who is Celi? And Seren?"

"…Damn I mentioned Seren to?"

"Stop avoiding the question."

"That was more than one question…"

"TSUKI!"

"What? FINE!…Fine…For shit's sake…"

It was hard to argue when Torian got like this. It flustered Tsuki like a virginal padawan. Putting the container down, he leaned over with his hands on his face. They brushed back the hair that normally hid one of the green eyes. Looking away, Tsuki finally started to speak under protest with as little detail as humanly possible. "…A long time ago, in a galaxy pretty fucking far from here…I…was born in a little remote place. The Empire attacked, thinking we were siding with the Republic, but we weren't. They captured…or killed most of the people. People I knew. And…I got some info to help me find the one I can't find at all, Celi. I was a stupid kid, but I promised I'd find him. I figured he was dead, but I keep seeing things. Things he would do. That's all."

Suddenly, Torian found himself very jealous of this Celi person.

"So, he's important to you?"

"…Yeah."

"Then we'll find him."


	3. Solaris: Chapter 1

"Sir, Sir?"

"Yes, Quinn?"

"You have a coded communication coming through from that Darth again, my Lord.

"Patch it through to a private channel. Secure the line and leave me."

"Yes sir, patching it through now."

Sitting in his room at the desk, Solaris was busy checking in on some information alone. Quinn had busied himself with working on the bridge as Jaessa and Vette would find themselves work to do together involving biochemical research. If nothing else, it was simply enough just to have Vette not screaming about her shock collar. It was also good that she had made at least one friend, even if it to Sol's apprentice. Pierce mostly kept to himself, conferring to Quinn only on certain matters, while Broonmark…was…well…a fuzzy psychopath. Once the holocom beeped at the panel on the desktop surface, Solaris was more than happy to push the flashing red button.

"Seren! Good to see you again." A miniature image of the second eldest's body appeared on the desk in a display of flashing blue light. Even though it was small, it was still more than enough to show a displeased look upon his face.

"You nearly got our brother killed, you know that?"

"I…What? No I didn't…" The news was enough to make Solaris frowned noticeably. "What do you mean? How did I almost get Tsuki killed?"

"Tell me something; do you even bother checking your intel before telling someone to go to a very remote place in the middle of Maker knows what star system only to then have them wait for someone in some random clothing to help them out?"

"Hey! I got the info from a reliable source! It's not my fault it came out bad! Besides, Tsuki can handle himself. He always has."

"If I didn't send an anonymous message to that young Mandalorian of his to pull him out of there, we'd be short a sibling, idiot."

"Why didn't you go yourself…?"

"I WAS BUSY!"

"Uh huh."

Flustered, Seren grumbled, looking away. "I wasn't anywhere near that area and he doesn't want his crew to know about us. All this sneaking around doesn't make any damn sense. Not like anyone would care that we are related…"

"I agree, but you know how he is. I'm surprised he didn't change his name like Celi did."

"Don't remind me…"

"Aw, admit it, Seren. You're worried too, right?"

"…Shut up."

"It's alright. Big brother will take care of you!"

"You're such a…" There was a pause as Seren sighed to regain his composure. "At any rate, I wanted to let you know that your 'source' is a cheat and you should let people who know what they are doing check your facts before sending us out on wild goose chases. "

"That's not really fair, you know. Quinn handles all that stuff and I can't even tell him!"

"Well, stop being stupid?"

"It'd be a lot easier if I let Quinn know…He's already suspicious of me. Last time I spoke to him, he asked if I had plans on 'merging houses' with this 'Darth' person. He even asked if he should size me up for a ceremonial suit of armor for marriage."

"Are you serious? Ha! That's absurd. What fool in their right mind would want to marry a moron like you, anyhow?"

"Tell me about it! He's been irritated ever since. I can't calm him down. How about we meet ships? No one on my end will care that you're my brother…and it will calm Quinn down…"

"Why do I have to get involved in your personal affairs? I don't need to know what you and Quinn are…"

There was a knock on the door, causing Solaris to shut off the communications abruptly. "Come in." The sliding door rose up, showing only Quinn standing there at attention in a regal white Imperial uniform decorated with red stripes and matching pants.

"Sorry to interrupt you, my Lord…"

"It's not a problem I just finished up…What do you need?"

"Ah…It was about how I spoke earlier. I did not mean to imply that you should consider marriage…but if the time comes, please allow me to…"

"Wait. Wait." Solaris had to stand up and laugh heartily. While not towering over his Captain, he did stand a few inches above him. The imposing black and silver armor also artificially broadened his stature just as the noble red markings on his face falsely projected fierceness to his appearance. Had Quinn been brewing this apology all this time? That was days ago and there was no reason to even say he was sorry for it. "Quinn, I'm not getting married. I haven't the urge nor the want. My communications with this Darth are strictly professional and…"

"But, you smile."

"Pardon?"

"When this Darth calls, you smile. You get excited and seem to enjoy the conversations. They are long, private, and…"

Leaning closer, Solaris couldn't help but grin. "And? Are you jealous?"

There was a pause and a scene of Quinn momentarily being flustered. "Of course not, my Lord. I'm only speaking out of concern for your mission and place in the Empire."

Disappointment.

Pulling away, Solaris's cheerful mood rapidly dissipated. "Ah, I see. Well as a Darth, there is hardly a reason for you to worry now, is there? I'll note your concern, but if that's all that's on your mind, I'll have you remember your place. Is there anything else I can do for you, Captain?"

The green eyes narrowed, even more so when Quinn looked up.

"….No…my Lord. I apologize."

"Save it. " The button to the door controls was touched by Solaris, shutting it down between himself and Quinn.

"Ha, you blew it again huh?" Turning, Quinn saw the red Twi'lek making a mockery of the situation.

"Oh, stow it. Slave."

"Oooo, Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass is all touchy that he got rejected."

"Stick isn't the only thing he wants up his ass." Lieutenant Pierce had to chime in, smirking to himself and returned the hi-five to Vette.

"Stow it, the both of you or I'll have you cleaning the pits of Broonmark's sleeping quarters for the next week." Solaris had come out of his own quarters, glaring at both Vette and Pierce. They were just outside his door, after all. It wasn't as it the walls were completely soundproof. The Lieutenant suddenly looked around, trying to find something to do while Vette just grumbled.

"Quinn. In here. Now."

"Somebody's in trouble…" Vette was snickering, before receiving a nasty shock around her neck. "ARGH!"

Smirking, Solaris just wiggled the handy push-button controller as Quinn walked his way into the room. With a quick tap to the panel on the wall, the door came down.

"Sit down, Quinn?" Sit down where? There were only two places; one being the bed and the other being the desk chair, which was already taken by Solaris himself. There was a hesitation again. Any objections might send Solaris to a point of being mad, so both slowly and carefully, Quinn lowered himself to sit on the edge of the surprisingly soft mattress.

"My Lord?"

"It turns out that I'm not very good at identifying sources of bogus information as I thought I was. I seem to have gotten lazy with you always helping me. Well, let's be honest, I never had to really check my sources. If they came out bad, I'd just get rid of the crook and be on my way."

Was there a point to this? Quinn already knew that Solaris was more heart and feeling then an actual thinker. It was both a fear and a quality about him that kept Quinn's loyalty and attention. Still, he remained silent as he waited for an explanation. It was unusual to see Solaris acting nervous and Quinn's mind began to immediately calculate what could have the otherwise fearless leader in such knots.

"You want to know who and what this mysterious Darth is to me, right? I need you to meet with their ship in an hour. We'll shuttle over there. Just the two of us…but I need you to be discreet."

"My Lord, I am forever discreet."

"That….That you are. Well then!" Solaris's sudden standing caused Quinn to do so as well. "Get to it. I sent the coordinates to your panel!"

"Ye..Yes, my Lord."


	4. Tsuki: Chapter 2 & 3

Author's note: You can use sites like to translate the Mando'a conversations if you wish!

"What's with this 'we' business, again?" Stopping to smile, Tsuki had reached out to Torian's arm. "You keep saying 'we' like this had something to do with you." Torian was standing up to leave after making his official statement but was surprised when the other Bounty Hunter had grabbed at his wrist. It was enough to stop Torian in his tracks long enough to look down at the grasping hand.

"If it's got something to do with you, then it's got something to do with me. It's that simple." _Besides, you don't remember anything, _is what actually Torian wanted to scream but refrained himself from doing so. Tsuki's eyebrows pinched together in the middle of his brow, looking frustrated as the squeeze he was going Torian's arm increased in strength.

"That's not simple at all!" Frustrated, he gave the arm a toss as he looked away. "Geesh…"

_You don't remember what you said to me that night._

"How is that not simple? We're in this together. I got your back and you got mine, right?"

_You said you needed me, and then we…_

"…Of course I do. I just…" There was a round of silence between the two as Tsuki nearly grabbed the arm again, but hesitantly stopped midway. Making a fist, the hand came down to punch the mattress he was sitting on instead.

_I don't know how much longer I can keep this bottled up._

Leaning in, Torian's urges could be felt as if the room was being pressurized. Those blue eyes were hard to resist or look away from. They were also extremely close…and…

"Boss. Boss." The earpiece beeped from the small end table, filling the room with Mako's voice. The tension broke as Tsuki hurried from being nearly pinned down in order to pick it up. Half holding the device close to his mouth, he answered.

"Yes? What?" Sighing, all of the muscles in Torian's body seemed to relax at once. He turned to leave, but was surprised when his arm was grabbed from behind. Looking behind himself, he saw the avoided gaze of his boss' eyes, hidden away by the messy white hair while still speaking to Mako over the com-link.

"Well, fix it then. Why are you bothering me with this shit?" It wasn't clear what Mako was saying back, but she didn't sound too happy. "Figure it out then! I'm busy. Yeah. Yeah. Alright." Pushing the disconnect button, the earpiece was tossed unceremoniously onto the end table again. "Damn girl. Always complaining about something…"

"She does that. It's cute though, right?" Finally looking up, Tsuki just shrugged.

"Be cuter if she didn't complain about every little damn thing. Like...you. You don't complain much."

"Ain't got much to complain about."

"Suppose that's true…"

Silence filled the room again and the hold on Torian's arm had yet to be released. Was he supposed to be doing something? Reaching down, the free hand moved on top of Tsuki's grip, resting without pushing it away. There was a shield up, and not the technical or energy type either. It was a personal barrier that kept people at a distance. The closer Torian got to it, the more he felt its resistance. "Tsuki."

Nothing; the green eyes moved to stare over at one of the rusted over walls, as if there was a window there. "Tsuki."

After shifting his weight, the Hunter finally responded. "You're worried about me, right?" His eyes returned the downward gave, even if one of them was still covered with hair. "You think I'm going to run off and not come back? Get my head blown off or just find Celi and never return?"

"Aren't you?"

"Maybe, haven't thought about it that far ahead."

The scarred lips under the decorative Mandalorian facial tattoo curved into a smirk. "You pulled me out of that trench, right? Damn guy had a few friends waiting trying to rob me. Good thing I got most of them, but that sniper shot me in the chest." Laughing, Tsuki finally had a moment to think about what happened. Torian had been tailing him the entire time on that run after all. "How long did you watch before you jumped in? My aim is good, but you had your sniper rifle too, didn't you? I shot a guy in the chest, you took off his head." The free hand moved to form a run and pointed its 'barrel' up at Torian's face. "Bang! Clean shot."

"…I was there for a while. Thought I could tag them before you took a hit. Was bit slow though. Snow blinded."

"You hate the snow."

"Yeah, gun nearly froze. Had to keep a heater probe up."

The bounty hunter laughed, giving Torian's arm a downward tug. It was almost playful and managed to pull the Mandalorian over. While they were nearly the same height, Torian stood just a tad bit taller. The height difference caused Tsuki to look up as his bangs shifted just enough to barely expose both eyes. The elegant writing of the tattoos showed a bit clearer, something he always wondered if Tsuki even understand what they meant. He had never bothered to ask, but he did enjoy how it looked; distinctive, like his own Mandalorian facial brand.

"You keep staring at me like that, Tor."

"I…keep..staring? Oh…well, I guess so."

"…So…are you going to do something or what?"

"That's the second time you've said that to me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

_Why won't you remember?_

"I should go." Turning, Torian moved to leave the room, leaving his employer in a lurch.

"The hell? The second time? Torian, what are you…"

The door slid open and closed just as quickly to mark Torian's sudden departure. Standing alone in his room, Tsuki just stood there with his mouth slightly ajar from shock as he was left alone. Any other person with the right state of mind would have taken this time to consider what Torian meant and quietly reflect, however, it took someone like Tsuki to not only get mad, but to also grab a pistol as he chased after the blonde. Instead of being yelled at, Torian found himself ducking from a red blaster shot which reflected off of the pipe directly above his head.

"Woah!" Turning around, he saw a very hostile bounty hunter with taped-up ribs, wielding a heavy durasteel blaster pistol that was probably already aimed at a major organ. "TSUKI! What the hell?!"

"You don't get to say something cryptic like that then walk out on me? Who do you think I am?!"

"Tsuki, what are you doing?!" Torian tried to walk up, but was forced to jump back as another shot was fired at his feet. "Alright! Alright! Just calm down…"

"I am calm!" There wasn't really arguing that this was one of Tsuki's calmer states. The fact that he hadn't shot Torian directly was an indication. "What the hell do you mean; I said that to you before?"

"That…" Looking behind, Torian saw a gathering of the other shipmates. It wasn't the first time Tsuki had chased one of his companions around with a pistol. Skadge and Gault both turned away with shrugs. The only ones possible upset about this were Mako and the droid while Blizz couldn't hold back his laughter. "Can we talk about this in private?" Torian's hands were up in defeat, lowering his voice. Staring, Tsuki finally relaxed the weapon.

"Fine. " He turned to go back into his room. Once the door had shut, Torian relaxed. Just as he was heading in there, he was suddenly grabbed by Mako.

"Torian! You can't go in there! You don't know what he'll do!"

"He's just sore right now. It'll be okay."

"Wh…Why do you trust him so much? All he does is fight with you and kill innocent people."

"Never seen him kill anyone that didn't have it coming."

"Does everyone have it coming…?"

"Most do. You just don't understand." With that he smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

"Keep looking into those names for me, alright?"

"…Alright."

Pushing the button on the wall, the door opened. Tsuki had already taken back to bed, injecting himself with another kolto shot. All the excitement got his wounds to seep again. After Torian returned through the doors, they shut on their own again but this time; he turned around to insert the code that kept them locked.

Standing at bedside, he then started to unhook the clasps of his armored chest piece. It unhinged, allowing it to be pulled over head. Once off, it was placed onto the floor to lean against the wall close to the bed. Unhinging the leg coverings were next, removing one thigh piece at a time. Both moved to the floor, on top of the chest piece. Sitting on the edge of the bed allowed Torian to unlock and remove the boot armorings, which had to be taken off before the actual leather boots themselves. With bare feet, heavy leather pants, and a simple, long sleeve cloth shirt, Torian straddled Tsuki to look down upon the tattooed face.

All of the armor removal was loud. It was enough to keep Tsuki awake from any sort of medicated nap enough to watch Torian undress without saying a word or make any movements to stop it. When straddled, elbows were used to prop the upper body up. A teasing smile crossed the scarred lips once again. "What are you doing, kid?"

"I'm not a kid." Getting pinned down so suddenly was both surprising and a bit painful. The wounds were still a bit raw, after all. Nose to nose, it couldn't be helped but to breathe each other in.

"You still a brat. Do you even know what you're doing?" Torian had a hand in the right place, cupping a tattooed cheek while leaning in. Tsuki was stuck between him and the mattress with nowhere to go, even if he wanted too. Not that he wanted too.

"Nothing I haven't done before."

"Ha. Ladies man, huh? Figures…"The green eyes looked away as Tsuki's dark- tanned fingers reached up to cling to Torian's cheaply-made cloth shirt. "Let me guess, you and Mako doing things in my storage room? I should have you scrub that place top to bottom now."

"I meant with you. You don't remember."

Now, the green eyes looked directly. "Say…that again? What do you mean?" Before any full contact could be made, Torian sighed through narrow nostrils. Sitting up, he continued to look down. His face twisted into a very obvious look called 'Irritated'.

"After I got captured, a few weeks later, we circled back to Nar Shaddaa. You disappeared in a bar and I found you spiced out of your mind, clinging to some big, blue Twi'lek guy. Had to pull you off and take you back to the ship."

To get the full story, Tsuki sat back up on elbows again. Eyes went to look off to the side, trying to remember anyone big or blue. "…I sort of remember. Mako was doing something and I was tired of waiting…I think I got a cheap dose, mixed with too much booze. It's a bit fuzzy."

"Was worried that you were gone a long time when I found you like that. Dragged you back here; put you in your bunk. Told me I had better make up for it, so…"

Jogging the memory, there were flashes of a rather fit body and…Oh. Uh oh. Pink flushed to Tsuki's face that was even visible behind the overgrown hair. Catching the look, Torian just nodded. "Got up the next day to fix some food and when you woke up, you didn't remember a thing. Kept asking if anyone suspicious had left the ship. Figured you couldn't remember."

"…Well, I didn't. I still don't." Scratching the back of his head, Tsuki gave a sigh. "So, you're saying that I…that we…and you never said anything? Why not? Was it that bad…?" Of course, the question was asked attached with a glare. It was Torian's turn to blush now, rubbing the back of his short, yellow hair.

"It wasn't…You are very demanding."

"I'm not demanding!"

"Yeah, you are. Were like, 'Turn this way, move here, kiss there.'"

"I DID NOT!" The cloth shirt was pulled up and off, making Tsuki unclench it.

"You did."

"…Why are you still taking off things?"

"Could leave it on if you want."

"…Well it's off now." Indeed it was and it was a fantastic start to the well trained body of the young Mandalorian becoming even more exposed. The creases in the chest and abs were slightly reminiscing through careful touching as Tsuki's brown hands moved over the warm peach fuzzed skin, up to the neck and touching the face. Thumbs caressed the branding over the pale cheeks before moving down to the fuzzy chin hair. "You could have fought me off, you know. Even if I was messed up, you could have put me down."

"I know."

"But you didn't? Why not?"

"Didn't want too."

"That's…not really an answer…" Tsuki responded softly as Torian leaned over, keeping a smile on as he was obviously happy to be finally become affectionate again.

"Oh? How about…_Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum._"

As the word rolled off of Torian's quick and rather pink tongue, Tsuki looked surprised as he understood what it meant. His eyes narrowed, giving a scolding look while still cupping the scarred cheeks. "You shouldn't say that to me. What kind of Mandalorian are you? Save it for your spouse."

There was another pause from Torian as he looked serious for a moment, then shook his head. "You really don't remember anything, do you?"

"I keep saying that I don't!"

"I was surprised you spoke Mando'a in the first place, but you said them perfectly."

"…Said what perfectly?"

"The vows."

"The…vows…the…Oh….oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me." Torian was perfectly seriously. "I…Shit."

The vows that Torian spoke of were the infamous Mando wedding vows that were often said during a private ceremony. Of course, it did make Tsuki now wonder just how many of those vows were exchanged in the bedroom. It couldn't have been that many. They were also very hard to back out of and there was no real going back on it…Not that he wanted too.

"Just…don't tell anyone." Torian immediately perked up.

"You mean it? You're not going to fight for a dissolve?"

Tsuki only remained quiet, looking off to the side yet again. Avoiding eye contact was his means of complying without having to speak. Besides, it wasn't as if he had to wear a ring or buy a wedding dress. Mando relationships were based on bonding, fighting, family, and survival. He should have guessed that Torian felt that way since he was always offering to cook, wanted to go on every mission and jumped in the middle of arguments that had really nothing to do with him. He was protective, quick to defend Tsuki's actions to anyone, and first to uphold any honor in the choices that were mad. More importantly, he thought of Tsuki as family, despite spurning the chance to work with Mandalore. The green eyes moved to look into Torian's. "Are you gonna kiss me or just continue to breathe heavily on my face?"

The blonde laughed, cupping the tattooed face with both hands. Lips touched and hot breath was exchanged between their mouths and noses. Eyes, both the green and blue pairs, were shut tightly. Somewhere between being breathless, Torian whispered in common tongue. "I love you."

"You said that already."

"I did, didn't I?" While nodding, Tsuki was suddenly kissed again. Open mouths meant that tongues mingled. It was incredibly wet, warm, and slippery.

There was more of a rush to remove the rest of the clothes now. Belts were pulled off; pants unbuttoned and pulled down with their boxers, only to be tossed on the floor afterwards. Bare skin was exposed to be touched, kissed, and tasted. Despite Torian's aggressiveness, he was surprisingly careful with Tsuki's battered body. Bruises were avoided and fresh wounds were worked around. There was something familiar about all of this to Tsuki, but even the slightly of the tantalizing touches made the tanned body shiver.

"Where…Where are you…Ah!"

Torian had moved down between the brown and toned legs, his mouth aimed at the twitching sex below. Gripping the short yellow hair didn't slow it down; just as Tsuki's biting of his own bottom lip didn't do much for muffling the chorus of noises. It was a good thing the walls were made of steel and it was only hoped that Tsuki had remembered to turn off the earpiece off that was still sitting on the end table. Pulling away, Torian had to reach over to medical gauntlet that had long been tossed to the floor against a bedpost, pressing a button on its palm that shot a dollop of clear gel into his hand. It was just your basic antiseptic with a mild numbing to dull the pain. It created a slight numbing effect when coaxed over Torian's fingers and in turn was smeared against Tsuki's tightened opening between the legs.

The Bounty Hunter had rolled to a side, almost curled up as the quivering body was prepared. Fingers were pushed passed his elastic ring, though slowly at first. There were squishing noises were being created from their back and forth movements. It was tolerable, as the medication took away the sharpness of the pain this would have caused normally. Being rolled onto his back again, a flustered Tsuki looked up at an excited Torian. The unfastened brown leather pants were down enough to show that the blonde was more than ready with his bloomed manhood both excited and twitching.

_How many times has this happened, _Tsuki wondered to himself that his body practically moved on its own.

"Ready?" The throaty grunt in Torian's tone tickled his ear.

"Don't ask me stupid questions." Of course he was ready. Feeling the weight of Torian shift, the length was pushed inside. Both men released their held breaths. Kissing afterwards was the product of brute forced combined with gentle chewing on each other's bottom lips. The intense biting was saved for the skin on their necks along with sharp fingernails digging into muscled shoulders.

Harder. Faster. Deeper. Over and over, the room became suffocating with body heat, although sweating did help with the friction. "More…", Tsuki called for.

"See. Demanding."

Positions changed several times. The stamina of a Mandalorian was nothing to turn your nose up at causing the screaming from both men to increase. With nose on Tsuki's spine, Torian released inside. The two bodies collapsed onto their sides and the splatter from Tsuki was covered with a crumpled sheet, pulled off from the corner in a moment of passion.

"_Cyar'ika…"_

"Ha, that again? Speak Basic, already." Torian chuckled from the skin of Tsuki's back with his bangs being pushed around his wet forehead.

"But you understand me…It's easier…" Resting his chin on a folded arm, Tsuki could only nod as his own messy of cotton-colored hair. "I do…I spent many years with a Mando." Curious, it made Torian sit up from his otherwise laid down position on his side behind Tsuki. It was a spooning position that kept himself as close as possible.

"_Jorhaa'ir_." Despite the command, Tsuki remained quiet. "Tsuki, tell me. I can't help you unless you tell me."

"…Fine, but if you blabbing to Mako I'll kill you. _Kebbur ni_."

"_Sa meh_."

Sighing, Tsuki rolled his sweaty and scratched back self over, hissing as he did so, laying the back of his head on Torian's extended arm with the thin blue blanket that barely covered both his and Torian's bare lower halves. "_Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad. _ That was the first thing that was explained to me in Mando'a." The words were odd to hear from Tsuki's mouth. Torian stared, blinking in confusion.

"The adoption vow?"

"I told you, right? That my village was taken by the Empire and that there were Mandalorians working with them. They were what stood between me and Celi escaping the planet." There was a pause for a memory clarification. "No, that's not true. If I hadn't done what I did, we would have both been killed. I bargained with the Mandos to get Celi to safety…Ha…'Bargained.'" Torian knew exactly how Tsuki bargained and the body count that typically followed after. "I stole the guns of some poor asshole and shot them down, not to mention whoever else came over. Four, total…then I was surrounded."

"….You…killed four Mandos?" The blonde sounded not only surprised, but also a bit disturbed. How many years ago was this, he wondered. Why didn't he know about this before?

"I didn't have a choice. They were either taking slaves or killing those who resisted. Four was the count I needed to get even. The leader, he saw me standing there with the blasters with a pile of bodies of his friends around me. I guess he was impressed enough to let Celi go, but I didn't care about what happened to me." There was another pause to as Tsuki closed his tired eyes. "And…after he agreed, he then promptly beat the living shit out of me and took me on his ship. Next thing I remember, I was in a bed busted up pretty good as he asked me my name. Told him and he said, '_Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad: _ I know your name as my child.'" Now, Torian's interested had peak as it was starting to make sense.

"You were raised by a Mandalorian?" The green eyes opened back up as Tsuki's head nodded.

"I was fourteen…It was for about 8 year before his past caught up with him, and then he died. Poisoned. After that, I started looking into the Great Hunt by myself. He always talked about it. Trained me for it, so after about a year I got in."

Numbers started to be counted in Torian's head. "So, you're only 23? 24?" The blonde was shocked.

"Yeah? Why are you surprised about that? I don't look old!" Feeling defeated, Torian started to laugh.

"I'm older than you are…" Now Tsuki looked surprised.

"What? I thought you were like 19…if that." Torian laughed again, feeling good about himself. Rolling his body back over, he forced Tsuki to his side in order to be snuggled from behind.

"29."


End file.
